Little Richard (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Robert Townsend

Writers (WGA):

Bill Kerby (written by) and
Daniel Taplitz (written by)

Release Date:

20 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Plot:

The story of Little Richard, from his poor Southern upbringing to dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a black singer in the 50's, to his born-again phase & brief "retirement" from rock and roll. |

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Boxing | Elvis Presley | Kitchen | Church

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Leon	...	Little Richard
Jenifer Lewis	...	Muh Penniman
Carl Lumbly	...	Bud Penniman
Tamala Jones	...	Lucille
Mel Jackson	...	Bump Blackwell
Garrett Morris	...	Carl Rainey
Anthony Lee
Lahmard J. Tate		(as Lahmard Tate)
Alimi Ballard
Anthony Griffith
JoNell Kennedy		(as Jonell Kennedy)
Michael Mantell	...	Art Rupe
Reynaldo Rey
William James Jones	...	Billy Wright
Warren G.	...	Studio Musician

Also Known As:

The Little Richard Story (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

120 min | Germany:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Davis Entertainment

Quotes:

Little Richard: [improvising on the piano] A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-good-hot-damn! Tutti frutti! Good booty! Tutti frutti! Good booty! Tutti frutti! Good booty! Tutti frutti! Good booty! If it don't fit, don't force it! If you grease it, make it easy!
Bump Blackwell: We have *got* to record that!
Little Richard: What?
Bump Blackwell: Yeah that! *That* is a hit!
Little Richard: You're kidding me.
Bump Blackwell: No, no, no, no, I mean, we gotta clean up the lyrics though. That's a... that's a definite. Dorothy, get in here!
Little Richard: But wait a second. Bump...
Bump Blackwell: This is gonna be...! Dorothy!
[Dorothy runs in]
Bump Blackwell: C'mere! Quick! Get in here!
[...]

Send me some loving, I missed getting some today, because I didn't know which way to play

The Life and Time of Little Richard, as told by Little Richard, as produced and directed by Little Richard, was about as one sided as one of his songs. This is not a biography or even a docudrama, but does have good writing, great energy and an outstanding leading actor playing Richard. All the music is by Little Richard, so it rocks a tight lipsync on every song.

The movie covers his early childhood, carrys thru the formative years in music, the wild success and Richard's throwing it all away to praise the Lord. Its all tied together well and the obvious comeback in 1962 manages to stay away from the idea that Little Richard discovered the Beatles, whom opened for him.

My main objection is that his outrageous, counter cultural behavior is underplayed and you get no feel for how his audience experienced him at that time. Some of his energy, which he still has, does not come across full force. He seemed tame, compared to what I remember of him at the time.

The best scenes are Richard getting jilted by Lucille and writing a song about it and the strip to bikini shorts while performing, to make the point about not having a decent place to change.

If they had gotten into the "Bronze Liberace" as Richard use to refer to himself in interviews, then there's a story. Trust me I just saw him perform a couple of months ago and he still flirts with the pretty white boys, giving the one particularly good dancer in the audience, his headband. Nearly 68 and still going strong I recommend this movie and any concert or T.V. appearance you can find. Little Richard is always on